Texans owner Bob McNair: Roger Goodell's salary 'way too high'

According to an upcoming book about the inner workings of the NFL, Texans owner Bob McNair is not enthralled with the tens of millions commissioner Roger Goodell (left) makes.

A highly anticipated book about the inner workings of the NFL comes out next week, and includes some interesting nuggets about Texans owner Bob McNair.

"Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times" by New York Times political writer Mark Leibovich goes on sale Tuesday and is touted as a "merciless probing of America's biggest cultural force, pro football, at a moment of peak success and high anxiety." According to The Ringer, Leibovich worked on the book for parts of four years and interviewed a cross-section of NFL players and owners. According to one anecdote, Leibovich even got drunk and passed out on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' party bus.

As for Texas' other NFL owner, Leibovich described McNair as "one of the sharper and more outspoken businessmen in the game" who "has seen his influence around the league grow despite having survived multiple battles with cancer and employing some of the most inept and overpaid quarterbacks ever to stain the Shield (see Osweiler, Brock)."

McNair told Leibovich that NFL franchise values are "in intangible assets," citing stadiums mostly owned by municipalities and players being rented, not owned. He drew a parallel to Enron, in whom "the market lost confidence" and "they were out of business, virtually overnight."

Leibovich said McNair called commissioner Roger Goodell's paycheck, which was recently extended for a reported five years and $200 million including incentives, as "way too high." McNair also dubbed the Patriots' "Deflategate" scandal emanating from using underinflated footballs during the 2014 AFC Championship Game, as "a mountain out of a molehill."

Leibovich also described McNair as a key player in the NFL relocating two franchises to Los Angeles. As a member of the league's relocation committee, McNair was asked by the New York Times' Ken Belson for his thoughts on the three owners seeking a move to L.A. - the Rams' Stan Kroenke, Chargers' Dean Spanos and Raiders' Mark Davis.

"Oakland gets nothing," McNair said, per the book. The reason? McNair cited the lawsuits Davis' late father Al filed against the league as he battled to relocate the Raiders to Los Angeles and then back to Oakland (years before McNair joined the ownership fraternity).

Leibovich revealed that Mark Davis implored him multiple times to "keep the tape" of McNair's interview, ostensibly for a potential lawsuit down the line.

Leibovich also asked McNair for this thoughts on the Texans' participation in HBO's "Hard Knocks" documentary series during training camp before the 2015 season. McNair called it "a net plus overall" but said he was "distraught and embarrassed" over the amount of profanity uttered on camera by Texans personnel.

That included coach Bill O'Brien using 14 variations of a particular expletive just in the premiere episode. According to Leibovich, McNair suggested to O'Brien that he institute a "cuss jar" in the locker room to deter future profanity. O'Brien agreed, with the proceeds going to charity.